Saskatoon Airport (Libby Giesbrecht/650 CKOM)

By Derek Craddock

CHRISTMAS TRAVELS

Less flight disruptions expected over Christmas, but travellers should still plan ahead

Dec 20, 2023 | 1:47 PM

It’s one of the busiest travel times of the year as thousands expect to hit the skies for Christmas.

Thousands of Saskatchewan residents are expected to travel for Christmas with thousands more making the trek to the province.

According to CJ Dushinski, the vice president of business development and service quality for the Saskatoon Airport, more passengers have been making their way through as airlines continue to bounce back from pandemic restrictions.

“(We) certainly expect to see more passengers this Christmas than we did last year,” she said, adding that Friday, Dec. 22, will likely be the busiest day of the season.

“We are expecting to see somewhere around 2,300 departing passengers that day so and that’s about four or 500 extra passengers than we would see in kind of a normal operating day.”

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As for where those passengers are heading, Duchinski said they’re expecting a mix of domestic and international travellers.

Terry Kazsas, general manager of travel services with CAA Saskatchewan added that popular international destinations at this time of year include the Disney Parks, Arizona for snowbirds, and Mexico.

“There is a lot of domestic (travel) for friends and family, then we have our passengers that travel into the U.S. every year around this time for family vacations.”

Last year was not only busy in terms of passenger traffic but because of flight disruptions. Winter storms caused many flight delays and cancellations at airports across North America. That was on top of the abrupt cancellations from Sunwing Airlines, which stranded many travellers, some not even making it home for Christmas.

Sunwing was arguably hit the hardest, however, other airlines like WestJet and Air Canada also had to reschedule flights.

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In January, Sunwing canceled most of its flights out of Regina for the rest of that winter.

This past summer, WestJet announced it would merge Sunwing into its operations, with the goal of completing those efforts by October 2024.

As airports prepare for the busy Christmas time, Duschinski encourages travellers to plan ahead as best they can.

“You never know if a flight might be delayed,” she said. “We’re expecting really good weather through the Christmas travel period, which is great, but it’s always a good idea just to check ahead and make sure your flights on time.”

Other advice she gives travellers is to make sure you have a plan to park your vehicle, as parking services will also be busy. You’re also encouraged to not have Christmas gifts wrapped in your carry-on luggage as security will have to unwrap them and check before you board your flight.

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derek.craddock@pattisonmedia.com